Finally, a Red Sox Win for Joe Kelly as Sox Bomb Yankees

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Jeff Pini has been a sports correspondent for Boston.com since 2013. A graduate of Roger Williams University, Jeff covers everything from the Red Sox and Bruins to B.A.A. running events and high school sports.

Xander Bogaerts went 4-for-5 and finished a triple short of the cycle on Tuesday as the Red Sox crushed the Yankees 9-4. Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports

In the first game of a three-game set in the Bronx, it was the Red Sox that were the bombers on Tuesday, scoring nine times to take down the Yankees 9-4.

Xander Bogaerts went 4-for-5 and finished a triple short of the cycle, while Mookie Betts was 3-for-5 as the Sox chased Yankee starter Shane Greene after just 2 2/3 innings.

Joe Kelly finally got his first win in a Red Sox uniform, tossing 6 2/3 innings and allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Greene was not so sharp, allowing six runs on six hits with three walks and three K’s before being pulled in the third inning.

The Red Sox got the scoring party started in the first, as Yoenis Cespedes doubled to left, scoring Brock Holt and advancing David Ortiz to third, who then made it 2-0 on a sac fly to Jacoby Ellsbury in center.

Daniel Nava’s three-run blast in the third made it 5-0, while Xander Bogaerts’ solo homer two batters later gave the Sox a six-pack on the scoreboard.

The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the third on a solo shot by Martin Prado – the Bombers first hit of the game – but Mookie Betts made it a six-run lead in the top of the fourth with a solo homer of his own.

Things looked to be heading south for the Sox in the fifth, as the Yankees loaded the bases and Kelly walked the second Yankee run, then scored a third on an overturned call that resulted in a Derek Jeter RBI infield single.

Cespedes and Nava scored insurance runs in the ninth to completely put the game away. Brian McCann added one more for the Yankees with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but that was all the Yankees could muster on the evening.

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MVP: Xander Bogaerts

The Sox shortstop had a very strong game in the Bronx, going 4-for-5 to finish a triple short of the cycle. It was the first four-hit night of Bogaerts’ career, while his eight total bases led the team in which three other players had five or more.

GOAT: Martin Prado

With the Yankees appearing to have a rally brewing in the fifth, Prado hit a liner over the head of Yoenis Cespedes in left. The angle Cespedes took forced Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to wait for it to drop before advancing, while Prado was digging double out of the box. As he arrived at second, he found McCann standing on the base and couldn’t get back to first before he was tagged out in a rundown.

ICYMI: Leading off the top of the fourth, Mookie Betts hit a frozen rope to left that cleared the fence for the Red Sox’ third home run of the game and Betts’ fourth of the season.

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QUOTE OF THE GAME:

John Farrell: "This is a team that now has a lineup that is formidable."

NUMBERS TO KNOW: Yoenis Cespedes’ RBI double in the first inning was his 24th RBI in 29 game with the Sox this year, while his 3-for-5 night raised his average to .289 since donning a Sox uniform after the July 31 trade deadline…Joe Kelly had been 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five starts with the Red Sox before earning his first Sox win on Tuesday…Since returning from the seven-day concussion DL, Xander Bogaerts is 7-for-16 with three doubles and a home run…Bogaerts (21) became the youngest Red Sox player with a four-hit game in 34 years…Bogaerts and Mookie Betts became the first two Sox rookies to homer in the same game in the Bronx since 1952.

WHAT IT MEANS: The win improves the Sox record to 61-77; they’re currently 19 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East, while they trail the Rays by 5.5 games to get out of the division cellar.

The Red Sox are 15 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the second AL Wild Card spot, while their magic number for elimination is 10.

LOOKING AHEAD: Anthony Ranaudo is scheduled to get the ball for the Sox on Wednesday; he’s a perfect 3-0 in three career big league starts with an ERA of 4.50. His MLB debut came against the Yankees on Aug. 1, where he allowed just two runs to the Bombers over six innings to earn his first major league win.

Hiroki Kuroda is looking for his fourth straight quality start; the right-hander is 9-8 with a 3.88 ERA in 27 starts for the Yankees this season. He went seven innings in his last start, allowing two runs to the Tigers on Aug. 28 in a 3-2 Yankees’ loss.